Williams comes through tough test

Venus Williams was pushed all the way by Camille Pin before eventually coming through 7-5 6-4 to book her place in the third round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.

Both players had trouble holding their own serve and it was fitting that the eighth seed sealed victory on the Rod Laver Arena by breaking the Frenchwoman as she converted a second match point opportunity.

A competitive first set that featured an incredible nine breaks of serve went to Williams after the American broke Pin when leading 6-5 courtesy of a crunching forehand down the line that was followed by a return from the Frenchwoman that landed beyond the baseline.

The second started in much the same vein with both players again struggling to maintain any advantage they managed to carve out.

But Pin, who has never progressed beyond the second round of a Grand Slam, looked set to level the encounter after taking a 4-2 lead as the world number 90's quickness around the court matched the power of her opponent.

But a below-par Williams fought back and eventually sealed victory when Pin hit a return long after her American opponent had taken the upper hand at deuce in the 10th game.